Another mermaid coming! Christmas is over, but the New Year is around the corner!

ANOTHER MERMAID 

This little mermaid loves pink, so I am trying my hand at yet another one. I will be mailing off the first one next Monday or Tuesday along with some things I made for my niece.

You can see the container I use for the yarn. I had to find something my tall, nosy puppies could not stick their head into. Works pretty well as long as I remember to close it when I leave the room (and stick in the project into the container!). It's a dog food container with wheels.

I finally decided to take the time to fix my counter height chair that was so rocky you could not sit on it.

I had to find some "specialty" tools to tighten all the various screws. ALL of them were loose.

Then I found that one of those holding the seat to the legs was on a walkabout! The hole meant for it had been drilled incorrectly which is why it wiggled out. I found my drill bit and cleaned it out to make it wider, thereby accepting the new screw.

Had to hunt down some of the pieces as I ended up putting them in various places as I moved around the dining room. Sheesh! 

Once completed, I put all the pieces back together, having to "ad-lib" the one that I "fixed" because there was no "inside" that the other three had. Needed a longer screw, and all the accouterments to attach it to the seat.

I received several wonderful gifts, but special mention goes to my daughter-in-law, Julie, who makes jewelry. I can't remember all the gems, but she has made several pieces in this style for me. My favorite are the pink pearls! I love these, though, too!

Julie sells her 18K gold jewelry in what they call "trunk shows." She sells at Neiman Marcus and visits about three or four places each year. Hard work and must be exhausting to fly around so much. My step-son does travel with her occasionally.

Hope your Christmas/Holiday has been a happy one!

MY LITTLE MERMAID

MERMAID AFGHAN 

My niece mentioned that mermaid afghans for the four children would be appreciated. I wasn't sure that it was something I could pull off with my carpal tunnel, so did quite a bit of searching for patterns. It took me a few weeks to come up with what I wanted to do. I did like the crocodile stitch look best, but since it is a LOT of post stitches, I knew I would be incapacitated after half way with the first one.

I decided to do a stitch I liked well enough, but the pattern had you start at the bottom and go up, which the way I saw it, made the "scales" going up the wrong way.  Plus the pattern did not have a children's size. The next pattern did not have the stitch I liked, but did have a child's size. Didn't like the tail, either.  Then the third one had the crocodile pattern.

After much contemplation I went ahead with starting at the top with the stitch I liked. I wasn't sure about the width, but since it would be open I felt that however large it would be okay as this was a 10 month old and she would not know the difference! LOL!

This is the bottom before I attached the fin/tail.

Then I discovered after all that planning I ended up putting it on wrong. The opening was to be at the back.  I had to search to find the yarn that I had used to attach it to the bottom so I could detach it! Yikes

At the time I started it I had a hard time making the stitch correctly that I liked so well. Eventually I had it figured out so the top portion is a little different, but looks okay. You can see if you click on the photo. The very top rows are in line with the body, but the ones below in blue are not. 

It took some pulling, but yay! I found it yarn that hooked the two together.

Took that baby out and resewed it.

I love the way it turned out….with the exception of some of the top stitching that was an experiment. Still, it's for a baby so will go unnoticed by her. Just have to keep my fingers crossed she can be put in it! Tried to make the bottom portion a little roomier for her toes.

CHRISTMAS IS OVER, BUT HEARTS SHOULD STILL BE EXCITED FOR THE NEW YEAR AND THE PROMISES IT HOLDS!!!   

JOY TO ALL!!

🎉 🎉 🎉

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!!!!

…and happy everything!! I can't remember how to spell it all, but wishing everyone a special holiday season.

I put a tree on my front porch. With the dogs I didn't want a huge accident! I trapped Santa inside my house, so if you didn't get any presents you know why!

I did put up a small tree on the little card table. Just right!

My prizes for being a good girl this year! Little doggie ornaments, one for each pup with their name on there.

Wishing you the most joyous time of the year!

Projects

ANNIVERSARY  LACE  SHAWL

This is a better photo than from a previous blog thread.  I don't block my shawls as I am really not fond of wearing lace. It isn't war in this climate. Although beautiful, to me not practical.  I gave this to my DSD for Christmas along with the purple/yellow one. If she likes it opened up, she can do it! LOL!

SUNSET ON THE BUTTE

This is the finished shawl in purple/yellow. Will make it again in a different color, same yarn. Love the way this turned out! Wish yellow had been my color. This is more her colors.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Life in the land of dogs

Went to the doctor's

On Wednesday I drove 4.5 hours to Portland for my CT scan on my lower back to see if the lumbar fusion had moved or if they could detect what is causing the continued pain. The next morning I had an EMG and then saw the doctor.

As it turns out no one knows what it is. Their "best guess" is I am healing slowly, I have a small amount of permanent damage to the nerves (numb areas in my legs and feet), and/or they could do exploratory surgery to see if they can 'see' anything.  

I opted to go home.  See the black marks? Those are where he had to jolt my legs on the EMG.

I have no idea what the numbers mean. It was all very interesting. Not as painful as the first time I had it done about 3 years ago. Might be because there is more numbness, i.e. more damage.

The nice doc said to add ibuprofen to my pain pill regime. I find that he is right..it helps and makes life more bearable.  Plus bikini underwear! LOL! Having the elastic around the waist puts undue pressure on my back surgical area. If it weren't so chilly, I'd be wearing dresses…the old fashion/new fashion kind that are baggy all the way down!

Bad photo, but have been working on this mermaid "afghan" tail for my 10 month old grandniece.  I'm down to the tail area now.  Took me awhile to figure out how to do a nice "scale" as didn't like then ones in the patterns. She will never know! Ha!

Below are photos of the glass cases the specialty surgeons at a emergency vet clinic in Poulsbo, WA had on their wall.  Will post more on another day.  These items are what they had to surgically remove from the stomachs and/or bowels of dogs who ate them.  I wonder how many rocks my dogs have eaten and if they dissolve. I'm getting paranoid!!

Above, that mess on the right is a slipper shoe. 

Above Coco in bag and Ginger in front. So serious looking always. The only time they seem to be smiling is while casing each other or the other two dogs in the back yard with their tongues hanging out gleefully! Ginger is about as tall as Riley (he is 1y 2m, she is 8m). They make Coco look tiny, but she is tall enough for me to scratch her head without bending over!

Don't let their innocent faces fool you….they do love to rip apart carpets, rugs, shoes, toys, beds, decks, steps, trees, bushes, Sweetpeas (that was scary!), grass - even garden fencing. It's amazing to say the least!

Then, of course, there are the blankets that mysteriously wander off into the yard through the doggie door!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Blessings!

The End